Merry Christmas, Bleeding Heartland readers! Although my family doesn’t celebrate the holiday, I do enjoy listening to Oy to the World, the klezmer Christmas album by the Klezmonauts (samples here). Their arrangements make the songs sound festive, which is surprisingly rare in Christmas music. It’s Jesus’ birthday, after all.

I got a kick out of this cartoon by Steve Sack of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune: a Christmas card from the Republicans (NOel).

What’s cooking at your house today? If you missed it last week, read the amazing diary about Christmas dinner in Provence by Asinus Asinum Fricat/Patric Juillet.

I’m not that ambitious, but the kids helped me make gingerbread yesterday. I use the recipe from the Laurel’s Kitchen cookbook: 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp salt in one bowl. 1 egg, 2/3 cup blackstrap molasses, 1/3 cup honey, 1 cup buttermilk (or kefir), 1/3 cup melted butter mixed in another bowl. Combine wet and dry ingredients, pour into greased 9 x 9 pan and bake at 350 F for about 40 minutes (a few minutes less in my oven).

My husband used to request noodle kugel every Christmas, but I just made that last week for Chanukah, so tonight we’re having roast chicken instead. After the jump I posted my noodle kugel recipe, adapted from my mother’s to include more protein and less fat and sugar.

desmoinesdem’s noodle kugel

Cook 12 ounces noodles of your choice. Egg noodles are traditional, but I often use whole wheat fusilli.

In a large bowl, combine

7-9 eggs (7 if jumbo, 9 if large)

1 16-oz tub cottage cheese

1 1/2 cups plain unsweetened yogurt (I use full-fat)

1/4 cup sugar (can be increased to 1/3 cup)

1-2 tsp cinnamon

1 apple, chopped (tart varieties are good)

1 cup raisins

2 Tbsp melted butter (more if you used low-fat or non-fat yogurt)

When noodles are cooked, drain and stir into bowl with other ingredients. Pour into 9 x 13 pan, spread out evenly, cover with foil and bake at 350 F for about 35-40 minutes. Remove foil and bake at 350 F for another 20-25 minutes.

Keeps well for a day or two–can be reheated or served cold. If you reheat in the oven, cover with foil (you may also want to sprinkle a little water on the kugel before covering).